This invention relates generally to a child's stroller and, more particularly, to a child's stroller which has a stable and readily maneuverable three-point stance and which may also have an aesthetically pleasing appearance to children in the form of a miniature convertible automobile body or the like mounted on an underlying frame.
One of the optional features of the present invention is an open top, miniature convertible automobile body which can be mounted over a frame so as to essentially conceal the frame from view. Broadly speaking, such strollers have been known in the prior art such as the open top racer car shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,290 issued to E. J. Gaffney et al. on Jul. 8, 1997. The racer car body contains fake front and rear wheels molded in the sides thereof which do not roll relative to the frame and body and which do not touch the stroller supporting surface. A pair of transversely spaced apart rear wheels are rollably mounted on vertically extending struts which are suspended under the racer car body from rear end portions of a frame. These rollable rear wheels are medially displaced from the fake rear wheels. A pair of transversely spaced apart front wheels in the form of swivel or pivotal casters are mounted under the racer car body and are suspended from a front end portion of the frame. These casters are medially displaced from the fake front wheels. The subject racer car stroller thus features a four point stance.
One of the problems encountered with a prior art stroller of the type shown in the Gaffney et al. patent is that the fake molded wheels on the sides of the racer car body lack realism and are aesthetically unpleasing as compared to a stroller car body having real rollable wheels.
Another feature of my invention is a frame having a stable highly maneuverable three point stance resulting from the use of a pair of spaced apart real wheels and a single swivel caster located under a front end portion of the frame on a longitudinal centerline of the stroller and frame. No such three point stance has been found by me on a stroller of the prior art. A clear advantage of such a single front swivel caster and three point stance is increased maneuverability over most prior art strollers which employ a four point stance. However, the three point stance results in instability, as where a person pushing such a stroller attempts to make a sharp right or left hand turn, particularly when moving forward at a relatively high speed, or when a load on the stroller is displaced from its longitudinal centerline, as where an occupant is seated or leans to one side thereof.
By means of my invention, the problem of instability using a stroller with a three point stance and other problems encountered using strollers of the prior art are substantially overcome.